The World is a Stage
by Lezlife
Summary: A/U: No one is interested in acapella: it's all about the stage. Beca's a freshman at Barden University. Her roommate talks her into joining musical theatre. When Chloe catches Beca's eye, what will she do?
1. Chapter 1

"DUDE!" Beca immediately closed her eyes and stepped back into the hallway, bringing the dorm door with her. She gathered herself, before raising her hand to cover her eyes from the left side of the room. "I'm coming in" she called out as she walked in to gather her laptop and mixing equipment. "Guys, next time put a sock on the doorknob or something. I don't need to see all your bits in detail! I'm gonna have nightmares now." Beca smiled at her joke as she started gathering her things from the desk.

"You know you want some of this sister. I'm just making sure you get an opportunity to see all this hotness." Beca's, oh so humble, roommate joked. Beca had known the girl since they were twelve, but was still getting used to her roommate's new found sexuality.

"No. Just no. But at least you paused what you were doing. Thanks for that by the way." Beca said somewhat sarcastically, as she could still hear occasional kissing noises happening behind her. She had finally gathered all of her things and needed to head out of the room, but with full arms, and unprotected eyes, she struggled to figure out a way to do this. Eventually she decided to side step her way out of the room, while making sure to keep her back to the couple behind her. As she closed the door behind her and started to head outside to her favorite mixing spot on the grass, she could hear them snickering at the funny sight she was sure she had created. She didn't want to stick around any longer, sure that she didn't want to hear the loud noises they would be sure to start making soon.

Out on the grass, Beca was enjoying the cool, and refreshingly sunny Autumn day. It was her favorite time of the year and she would spend as much time out here as she could. As a freshman in college, she had known that she would need a place she could go to be alone. She found this spot her first week, and considered it her home away from home. She was a little disappointed that it wasn't always as quiet as she would have preferred, but didn't mind that much, since she was used to pretty much ignoring people around her anyway. It was near impossible to find a quiet place on campus, and this place was comfortable with the grass and the shade of the tree nearby.

She was used to the somewhat unique groups of people around her. At first their peculiarity made them difficult to ignore, but now they were just part of the background of her spot on the grass. One group was moving in a circle holding hands and chanting, and another group was running around in the grass with sticks between their legs passing a small gold ball to each other and shouting insults and random things about Gryffindor and Slytherin. She knew they were the Quidditch club, but pretended she didn't in hopes that they would leave her alone. She wanted to maintain her reputation as a bad ass who knew nothing about such dorky things, thank you very much.

There was a group of theatre kids that showed up sometimes too. Today, they were sitting closer to Beca than they normally did, so she was having to put effort into her seclusion, determined to get some work done on her newest mix. They were eating lunch, but would sometimes break out randomly in song. No matter how hard Beca tried to ignore them, she found them terribly distracting because they would sing so loudly that they would overpower the noise canceling headphones she was wearing. She was editing a piece of music that she hadn't added vocals to yet, when she heard a beautiful voice singing. It startled Beca because the voice went so well with the music coming from her laptop. She took the headphone off of one ear and looked around for the source.

The first thing Beca noticed when she spotted the girl in question, was the long curly red hair. She wasn't facing Beca, so in order to not look conspicuous she put the headphones back in their proper spot, and made a decision to keep an eye on the girl with the voice of an angel, telling herself that her interest was strictly music related. A little while later the girl turned around at something one of her friends pointed out, and Beca caught a glimpse of the most beautiful and bright blue eyes she had ever seen. She got lost in the depths of those sky blue eyes for a moment when suddenly, they looked directly at Beca, startling her, and making her cheeks flush red. She fumbled with her computer, trying to make it not seem like she had been staring. _Oh, my god! What's wrong with me?_

Beca did not dare look up from her laptop until her roommate plopped down beside her, giving the small girl an elbow in the side.

"Hey Short Stack."

"Hey Bean Pole." Beca responded, smiling at the tall girl.

"Sorry about before. It wasn't exactly planned. We were just studying and then next thing I knew..."

"It's no problem, really. I don't want the details." Beca interrupted.

The tall girl smiled at her roommate as she said "Fine, fine. Well, adios tat queen." She quickly stood up, and skipped away. Beca started back on her work, amused with the nicknames her roommate constantly gave her, but paused when she heard her voice again. She looked up expecting to see her tall roommate looking down at her, but she wasn't there. Glancing around confused, she saw her sitting on the blanket with the same group of theatre kids that the girl with the sky blue eyes had been eating lunch with. _Since when is Stacie interested in theatre?_ Beca thought to herself, as her eyes caught the beautiful redhead's again.

A little while later, Beca was walking back to her dorm room. She had been too distracted by the redhead, always locking eyes with her when she looked up from her laptop, that she hadn't gotten any more work done on her mix. She was thinking about this when she heard someone call her name from somewhere behind her. She turned around, and saw her dad jogging in her direction. She stood still, waiting for him to catch up. When he got close enough she greeted him in her usual manner.

"Hey."

"Bec, hi. I'm glad I caught you." Dr. Mitchell said with a smile. "It's been awhile since we've talked. How are you doing?"

"I'm good dad. I was just doing some mixing on the grass over there." Beca pointed in the direction from which she had come.

"Good. What else have you been up to? Have you made any new friends? What activities are you involved in?"

"What's with the third degree Dad?"

"I'm just trying to get caught up with your life, honey. College is great, I want to make sure that you make the most of it."

"I am, Dad. I have my classes, and my mixing. Stacie is always around. I have all that I need."

"You should join in on something Bec. You gotta get out there, you know, try something new. You get to create memories here, and I don't want to see you look back on your time here and regret things you didn't do. You'll be here for four years, and then move out to LA or wherever. You can't spend those 4 years in solitary. Just think about it. Ok?"

"Alright Dad, I'll think about it. I'll come to your house for dinner and laundry this weekend. OK?"

"I look forward to it." With a quick shoulder squeeze and a smile for his daughter, he was off, probably to teach his next class. She loved her dad, but knew that he just didn't understand her. Her parents divorce had been hard on her, but things had been made easier when she met her best friend shortly after their divorce.

Later that evening, Beca was studying for a biology test when Stacie came into the room.

"Hey Tiny One."

"Just cause you're a giant, do you have to always mention my size?"

Stacie came over to stand next to Beca, leaning her arm on the top of her head.

"It's fun." She said simply. Beca tried to hide her smile as she swatted at Stacie's hand. The tall girl rubbed Beca's head like a puppy before heading back to her side to sit on her bed and get ready to study.

"Since when are you hanging with the theatre kids?"

"They all hang out in the same building that my art class is in. I'm actually going out and making friends, little one." Stacie said with a wink, letting Beca know that she meant no harm. "They were talking about the auditions coming up in the next couple of days. I think I'm going to try out." Stacie smiled.

"Oh"

"They asked about you."

"They did?" Beca squeeked. Clearing her throat, she added "what did they ask?"

"Oh, just the basics, like who you were, and what your name is." Stacie was laying on her front now with a text book in front of her. "Chloe seemed particularly interested. She said she caught you staring at her."

"I wasn't staring at anyone. I just kept hearing them singing over the music in my headphones. It was distracting." After a couple of minutes, and Stacie didn't respond, Beca added, almost whispering. "Which one is Chloe?"

"She's got long and curly red hair." Bright blue eyes popped into Beca's thoughts. "Do you remember her?"

"Oh. OK. Yeah, I saw her. I guess I did look at her, but just for a second."

"Uh huh" came the response.

"You should hang out with us. They're a wild group of people. Maybe you could join me in the Musical!" Stacie was getting excited at the prospect of bringing her shy friend out of her shell a bit.

"I can't see myself acting Stacie. Can you?" Stacie's face frowned for a second, before saying,

"No. I don't suppose I can." Beca looked back at her book, happy to have dodged that bullet.

"OH! You could be tech! Behind the scenes. Stagehand, or costumes. OOOOH. SOUND!" Stacie was nearly shouting now.

"Jeez, woman! Calm down!" Beca's mind was racing a mile a minute trying to figure out how to get out of this... even though she wasn't even 100% sure she wanted to.

"Just let me think about it. OK? I'm not one to rush into anything Stacie. You should know that by now."

"Alright. There's an application online. I'll just send you the link, and the rest will be up to you. OK?"

"Sounds good Stace. Thanks."

Beca looked down at the notes she was studying, trying to concentrate on them. Stacie was already in her studying zone, and Beca knew that she could be alone with her thoughts. When her roommate got this focused, Beca knew that there was no interrupting her, unless you wanted to feel the wrath of Stacie. At first glance, she just seemed like a ditzy, gorgeous, well endowed brunette. But she was actually very smart in addition to all those other things. It was one of the many reasons Beca had wanted Stacie to be her roommate. Not only were they best friends, but there were a couple of hours every night predestined for homework time. School had never been Beca's strong point, but she was trying really hard to make getting good grades a goal this year. A new school meant new possibilities. She was going to do it correctly this time.

Beca thought about the play, and thought about what other activities she could get involved in. She knew she definitely didn't want anything to do with the Quidditch club. She'd also heard of a couple other clubs that had caught her interest, but they were too 'lame', and her reputation wouldn't allow her to join them. One of them was this singing group. They sang acapella or something. Not an option. She hated sports, so that was out. Not able to think of a decent group, she started to wonder what theatre was like.

If she could help out with sound stuff for the musical, that could be cool. She'd be kept busy and that was something she missed about her home town. During high school her mom had always made her help out at the family store after school. Beca didn't think she'd miss that, but she did. Plus, Stacie would put in a good word for her with her theatre friends, so she would automatically have a group to hang out with. Beca was shy, and making new friends was difficult and panic inducing. Begrudgingly her mind seemed to be made up. There seemed to be far more reasons for Beca to help with the play than there were for her to not.

Right around bedtime as the two girls were getting ready for bed, Beca said out loud to Stacie "What's the play?".

"Huh?"

Beca cleared her throat, "Sorry. What musical are they putting on this Semester?" she asked while changing into her pajamas.

"Oh, it's 'Grease'." Stacie paused, "So, you've been thinking about it?"

"Yes." Beca said reluctantly, "It might be fun. And my dad wants me to get involved with something here on campus. And since you'll be there, I won't be starting at square one. You could tell everybody how awesome I am." Beca said with a cheesy grin as she sat down on her bed, putting lotion on her arms and legs.

"What makes you think I'd say you're awesome?" Stacie was changed and brushing her hair in front of her mirror.

"Cause you loooove me!" Beca teased her longtime friend. Stacie responded by skipping across the room and jumping on top of the smaller girl, tickling her sides.

"Stop, stop!" Beca managed to get out while trying to catch her breath. Stacie sat up sitting next to Beca on her bed. Looking down at herself she noticed she had lotion all over.

"Pipsqueek! You got lotion all over me!" This made Beca grin widely.

"Serves you right for attacking me!"

"Well maybe now I'll tell everyone you're just horrible and mean!" It was Beca's turn to tickle attack Stacie, but it backfired on her. She'd forgotten that Stacie wasn't ticklish, and the tall girl took advantage of Beca's confusion and tickled her again.

"Stop, stop" She was once again screaming. Stacie stopped and got up to go to bed, smiling at herself. "You're never going to enjoy the freaky stuff if you let yourself be ticklish." Beca groaned and playfully kicked her on the butt while she could still reach it.

"Let myself?" Beca looked across the room quizzically.

"Yeah, you gotta control it."

"Easy for you to say, weirdo. Who says I want to do anything freaky, anyway?"

"Everyone does" Stacie said with a wink.

"Yeah, right" Beca said as she laid down. A few minutes later, as they were both laying there in the dark, Beca whispered "Stacie..."

"Yeah Becs?"

"What's sex like?" Stacie paused a second while she put some serious thought into her answer.

"It's amazing. There's just nothing like it."

"Thanks Stace."

"I'm here to talk anytime."

"I know."

"Night."

"Sleep tight."

The next day, Beca was in the food court waiting in line to get her usual pasta dish for lunch, when she felt someone standing really close to her left shoulder. She looked in that direction, and was face to face with the girl with the soulful sky blue eyes and curly red hair.

"Hi! You're Beca. Right?" She said with more pep than Beca had seen in her entire time at Barden.

"Umm... yeah. Hi."

"I'm Chloe." She said holding out her hand.

"I know." Beca said as she shook the other girls hand. _Oh, lord, these hands are soft!_ "Stacie mentioned you last night." Chloe's smile somehow got even bigger.

"She did? Well isn't she the sweetest thing. She said you might be joining the crew for 'Grease'?"

Beca was going to kill Stacie. It was too early in the day for this much energy. Beca raised her hand in a 'hold on one minute' gesture while she ordered her food. When she was done, she answered the older girls question.

"Yeah, I was thinking about it. I have the link though. So I'm good." Chloe started ordering her food, and Beca took that opportunity to try and get away from the ball of pep after grabbing her bowl of pasta. She found a corner booth and made herself as small as possible. A few minutes passed, and assuming she was now safe from the not entirely unwanted attention from the redhead, she started eating her food.

"Oh, goodness, you were hard to find." Beca coughed, surprised by the sudden appearance of Chloe. The redhead sat down and started talking.

"Oh, my, are you ok?" Beca nodded quickly, and Chloe continued. "So I've been in play crews a couple of times. I had to because of my major. I love being on the stage though, there's nothing like it. I've had lots of friends behind the scenes too. I tend to get along with quiet types, don't know why. Anyway, I prefer to be in the cast of the productions. I can sing, and dance, and of course act. Haha. I'm a Junior and I'm going to be a theatre teacher one day. That's what my major is. So, anyway, you send in the application to be on the crew, and then on the last day of auditions, the director has all the crew applicants come in and he talks with them one-on-one. Kind of like your own little crew audition. He'll ask just a couple questions, and then he'll place you where he thinks you'll do well. The auditions usually last 3 or 4 days, and since today is the first day of auditions, I would assume that he'll want to see you on Friday. You'll get an e-mail telling you all the info you need the day before you're expected to go to the theatre for your 'audition', as long as they have your e-mail address from the application. So, you should really send that in if you haven't already."

Beca was amazed that the redhead hadn't passed out from lack of oxygen. She, herself, hadn't ever said that many words in one conversation, let alone whatever that just was... one... response? She realized Chloe was looking at her expectantly with those gorgeously blue eyes. _Keep it together Mitchell!_

"Umm... what?" Beca couldn't figure out what part of that speech she was supposed to respond to.

"Have you applied yet?"

"No, not yet. But I will later today." She responded. This conversation was quickly draining her energy, although she realized that she didn't actually mind that much.

"Good!" Chloe responded genuinely. "So, you've never done anything in theatre? What did you do in high school?"

"I went to my classes. I mixed music. And I helped my mom with her store. I stocked the shelves and worked the cash register."

"That's nice of you." Chloe said with another genuine smile. _OK, maybe this girl isn't so bad. She's actually having a conversation instead of just yammering at me._

"Yeah, well, family is important." Beca was almost done with her pasta, while Chloe's was practically untouched.

"So how do you know Stacie?" Chloe asked while she dug into her food.

"She's my best friend. I've known her since 7th grade." Chloe nodded, urging her to continue, which she did hesitantly. "She was the first person to talk to me in my new school after my parents split and I had to move with my mom. We just moved across town, but it was still a change." Chloe still didn't say anything, so Beca sat there quietly while she finished her meal.

"That must be tough, having divorced parents."

"It was, but all is good now." Beca couldn't believe how much this strange girl was getting her to open up. Chloe was done with her food, and Beca needed some space to be alone with her thoughts, so the smaller girl moved to get out of the booth and throw her dishes in the bin. Chloe was right behind her, but thankfully silent. They threw their trash away, and put their dishes in the bin to be washed. Beca moved to leave, but Chloe caught her by the shoulder, giving her a quick hug before saying.

"Bye Beca. Hope to see you around the theatre." Chloe skipped off, leaving Beca still frozen in place.

"Well, that was weird." Beca mumbled to herself, as she headed back to her room, hopeful that her roommate was busy somewhere else. She needed to attempt to make sense of all that was happening in her head after the strange encounter.

 **A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading my new story! Hope you liked it. Please review, I'm still looking to figure out where it's going.**

 **I don't own Pitch Perfect or anything associated with it... except the DVD's and a Pop character. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Beca cautiously opened the door to her dorm room in Bell Hall. Stacie's bed was empty. She let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She leaned back against the door, still able to feel where Chloe had hugged her. ' _What was it that she smelled like..._ _It was a very soft scent, flowers... or maybe just soap? I wouldn't mind smelling that again.'_

 _'OK, wow, what is happening to me? 'This girl accosted me in the food line, got me to open up, and then hugged me. I don't do that. Since when does this happen to me? Nope, I can't let her in. I don't need any more friends. I have Stacie, that's my quota. Can't deal with any more people than that. It was just a fluke that Chloe got me to open up. All I know about her is that she's got cheerleader pep and loves theatre. Damn, I must have let my guard down. Can't let_ _ **that**_ _happen again. I'll just have to avoid her to make sure. I can do that. I still want to see what this theatre thing is about though. Hmm... I can still avoid her if I do this. Yeah, the theatre is a big place. And she's going to be onstage. Totally avoidable. I'll just concentrate on my job and be a wall flower.'_ Beca picked up her laptop and opened up her e-mail to find the link to the application that Stacie had sent her.

Beca had just hit the send button when Stacie walked into the room.

"Hey Polly Pocket."

"So I guess you talked to Chloe about me Sasquatch?" Beca tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice without succeeding.

"I just told her you might apply for crew. What's the problem?" Stacie looked taken aback by Beca's sudden foul mood.

"Why were you even talking to her about me? I don't know her!"

"She lives upstairs. We walk to class in the mornings sometimes."

"She lives here... Why? This is a freshman dorm!"

"She's an RA. What's wrong with you Beca? You're not making any sense."

"I just like my privacy Stacie! And you're talking to random people about me. I don't like it."

"I'm sorry Becs. I didn't think it was a problem. She's my friend."

"She's got no sense of..." Beca had to be careful not to say anything she'd regret. "personal space. She invited herself to eat lunch with me. It was... weird." Beca finally finished, her shoulders drooping.

"Beca, I'm sorry." Stacie said again. "I won't talk to her anymore about you, OK?"

"OK."

"Can I ask you something though?" Stacie asked

"I...guess..."

"Wasn't the whole point of this to make friends? Why are you pissed because someone took an interest in you?"

Beca didn't know how to respond to that. _It had been the point, but not anymore. It couldn't be. Could it?_ She looked at Stacie for a few seconds, shrugged, and then walked out the door with a quick "Be back later." thrown in the direction of her roommate. She hoped that Stacie would know her well enough to not ask that question again.

Beca got the e-mail from the musical director on Thursday.

 **Date:** Thursday 9/13 10:34am

 **Subject:** Tech Crew

Dear potential crew,

On Friday, Sept. 14, Dr. Laney and I am holding personal interviews with those that sent in their applications for technical positions. We will interview those with the last name starting with the letters between A-M at 5 o'clock. N-Z will be interviewed starting at 6 o'clock. You can come into the theatre today and sign up for a more specific time if you would like. Otherwise be at the theatre at either 5 or 6 depending on which meeting you are supposed to attend.

Contact me by telephone or e-mail if you have any issues with this schedule.

Thank you,

Dr. Fitzpatrick.

So, Friday. ' _I have to be at the theatre by 5'_ Beca had class at 12:30 and then again at 2. Leaving her an hour or two to work on mixes before the 'Audition' as Chloe had put it. She kept popping into Beca's head, which annoyed her, seeing as how Beca was going to avoid the girl as much as possible. She tried not to think of the reasons for acting this way. She found it easier.

Beca was at the theatre promptly at 5. She had no idea where to go. When she walked in the front door, the lobby was huge. And freaky quiet. There was a sign on the door that pointed her to turn right. When she ran into a wall, there was another sign pointing to her left. She went down the hallway and came to a door. Being left no other choice, she opened the door. She saw cement, and ropes. There were tools, and props and a metal spiral staircase that went up and didn't seem to have a top. She'd never seen the backstage of a theatre before. She was startled out of her sightseeing when she heard a sharp "You're here!" and felt arms wrap around her waist.

"AHH" Beca screamed and pushed the small body away. She clutched at her heart and bent at the waist trying to catch her breath. Once Beca had calmed down, she saw who it was that had hugged her. Standing in front of Beca was a very hurt looking redhead.

"Oh, my God, Chloe. I'm sorry. You startled me." When the girl didn't say anything, Beca got worried. She didn't know this girl very well, but she knew enough about her to understand that if she wasn't talking, there was probably something wrong. She got closer to the older girl to see if she was OK.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I've never been pushed away like that." Chloe said as she took a couple steps back.

"I'm sorry Chloe. I didn't mean it... I'm... not used to being hugged." Chloe looked up then and her bright blue eyes shone with something Beca couldn't name. She hoped it wasn't pity. She hated that.

"Oh."

Looking at her watch, Beca panicked.

"Shit. I'm late. And I don't even know where I'm supposed to go!"

"Oh, right. You're probably here for tech auditions!" Chloe perked up. "I'll show you where to go."

Chloe took off, and Beca had to run to keep up.

"Damn these short legs." She whispered to herself as she was following the redhead down a staircase.

"What?"

"Um, Nothing." A minute later they had arrived at a small, darkly painted, theatre in the basement.

"Here ya go!" Chloe seemed to be her old self again, so Beca braced herself for the hug she knew was coming, but Chloe just walked away without giving one. Startled and kind of bummed, Beca walked into the black room, and sat in a chair, waiting for something to happen. _Guess it's not going to be easy to avoid her._ Beca thought to herself as she was waiting. _You know, she's not that bad. She's nice and seems to genuinely care for others. Maybe she wouldn't be a bad acquaintance. We're going to have to come to some sort of agreement on the hugs though. Those are just confusing._ She was lost in her thoughts on the hugs when an older man came into the room.

The man had salt and pepper hair, and was followed by a large boy, who must have just had his interview. They shook hands and the large boy left. Another name was called and a small blonde boy stood up. He made eye contact with Beca and nodded in her direction as he ushered him through the doorway for the interview. After a few more people had their interviews, Dr. Fitzpatrick spoke to the small group left.

"You guys didn't sign up for a specific time, so I'll just call you in alphabetically." At 5:45 Beca was the last person sitting in that room. Dr. Fitzpatrick called her name and she followed him into a room with lots of mirrors. _I wonder if this is a dressing room_ , Beca thought to herself.

"So, Beca, hi. My name is Dr. Brian Fitzpatrick. When we are in this building you can call me Brian, but anytime we see each other on campus or if you ever e-mail me you should call me Dr. Fitzpatrick." Then he pointed behind him and introduced Dr. Laney, whom Beca had not noticed right away. Dr. Laney was a large man with a pleasant smile.

"Do you have any questions so far Beca?" She just shook her head, a little intimidated by the two men. "OK, so, on to my first question. Why do you want to be involved in this production?"

"Well... Um..." _What was the right answer here?_ "I would like to see what happens behind the scenes of musicals... sir."

"Remember Beca, call me Brian. Any other reason?"

"Well, I miss being busy, and I would like to make some friends." Beca was starting to relax a bit.

"And what area of Technical Theatre are you interested?" Beca was surprised Dr. Laney wasn't asking any of the questions.

"Well, I have experience with sound boards. It's kind of my hobby."

"I'm afraid we already have the booth filled. Any other areas?"

Beca was not quite sure what he had just said, but she had the distinct impression that working the sound was out of the question.

"Umm... What other options do I have s...Brian?" Dr. Fitzpatrick smiled

"Well, there's stage hand, but due to your petite size, that might not be the best place for you. There's also costumes, props, and other various places we can put you."

"Oh, um, well, I'm not sure. I would like to be doing something helpful, and I would like to learn."

"OK Beca. Thank you for your time. I will send an e-mail to those with a tech position on Monday."

"Brian... one more thing. I know I don't have any experience, but I will work so hard to make your production successful, and I can do this. I know I can."

"I'm sure of it Beca." He said with a smile. "Have a good weekend."

"Thanks Brian. You too." Dr. Fitzpatrick started ushering Beca out, but she side stepped him and reached her hand out to shake hands with Dr. Laney. "Have a good weekend sir." He smiled and said "Thank you" and she smiled back. Beca walked out of the dressing room, to the dark theatre, where there were already a couple of people waiting for their interviews. Brian started talking to them as Beca walked out the room. She stood there for a minute looking around at her surroundings. She was standing in a gray cement covered hallway. _For a place that holds so many people with bright personalities, this place is kind_ _of dull_. She turned right, to head back upstairs the only way she knew how. At the top of the stairs, she looked around for something, but not really thinking about what she was looking for. She walked slowly, leaving the theatre with the same route she took coming in. Chloe wasn't backstage anymore, Beca tried not to recognize her disappointment as she headed back to her dorm room.

Beca had to walk along the outside of the large theatre building to get to her dorm. Just as she was passing by this rustic looking part of the building with a very large metal door, she saw the red hair, she'd been trying not to look for. She hadn't been able to shake the sad feeling she'd gotten earlier when she hadn't gotten a hug. Before she could stop herself, she called out to Chloe. The redhead turned around.

"Hey Beca. How did the interview go?" Chloe started walking towards the brunette.

"I think it went well. Are you waiting for a class or something? I'm kind of surprised you're still here."

"Oh, no. I just hang out here a lot. I had my audition and then some work to do for one of my classes. I'm done now though. Are you heading back to Bell?"

Beca was confused for a minute before remembering that Chloe probably knew where she lived because of Stacie.

"Oh, right, you live there too." Now it was Chloe's turn to look surprised.

"Haha. Yeah. You and Stacie really talked about me, didn't you?" she said with a wink. Beca's face turned a nice shade of bright red, making Chloe smile.

Beca mumbled something, and started walking. Chloe fell right into step beside her.

"So, what do you do on the weekends? Do you go home, or stay here?

"Well, both my parents live here in town, so both." Beca replied. "How about you?"

"I usually stay here, but my brother is in a play at home this weekend, so I have to drive the two hours home."

"So theatre is like, a thing in your family?"

"Yes it is!" Chloe said proudly. "He's even more serious about it than I was. He's in a community theatre production of 'Sound of Music'". Chloe continued talking about her family until they got to Bell Hall. Beca learned that Chloe's brother is a Junior in high school. They are exactly 3 years and 11 months apart. Her parents are still together, and they are both teachers. Her dad teaches Language Arts at the high school, and her mom is a music teacher at the elementary school. But they both did theatre as kids. Beca and Chloe got into the elevator and Beca pushed the 3 to go to her floor, and thought it was odd that Chloe didn't push the button to go to her floor. She was still talking, so maybe she forgot? They got to the third floor and Beca stepped out of the elevator, turning around to say goodbye to Chloe. But the elevator was empty. Chloe was beside her, still talking about her family. Beca shrugged and walked to her dorm room. As Beca was unlocking her door, getting ready to invite Chloe in, she heard the redhead say goodbye.

"Wait, what?" Beca turned to face Chloe.

"I was just saying that I had to go pack for this weekend. I have to leave soon, and of course get all of my laundry into my car. I just wanted to finish telling you my story first."

"Oh, OK."

"Well, goodbye then," but Chloe didn't move. She had this strange look on her face. Then Beca realized that she probably wanted a hug, but didn't know if she could give one. Beca opened her arms a little, and rolled her eyes. Her open arms were enough of a sign for Chloe, and the redhead smiled big and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. Beca smiled into the red hair and hugged Chloe back. Just then, the door behind Beca opened and she heard Stacie let out a surprised gasp. They let go of each other and Chloe moved past Beca to give Stacie a hug.

"Bye girls. Have a good weekend." She skipped off down the hall and headed up the staircase. Stacie was staring at Beca with a frown on her face, obviously surprised at what she had just witnessed. Beca pushed past Stacie, and went into the room. She heard Stacie close the door and walk over to her desk.

"So you don't know her, huh?." Stacie turned around in her desk chair to face Beca.

Beca sat on her bed, settling in for the argument.

"Correction: I didn't know her. Now I do." Beca said with a shrug. She picked up a text book so she could pretend to read it.

"How did that even happen Beca? A couple of days ago you didn't even like her, and now you're chatting it up in the hallway and giving her hugs."

"She likes hugs. That is not my fault."

"I know she likes hugs. She was my friend first remember? I like hugs too. But you don't.

"What's your point Stacie? The other day you told me to be nice to her. I did that."

"My point... My point is that I don't know this Beca. I don't know this person that chats with strangers. Or hugs them..." A sad look came over Stacie's face, but she continued. "It's like you're a completely different person!"

"I'm the same person I've always been. I made a friend. That was the whole point. So if you could just leave me alone about that, it'd be great."

"Fine." Stacie got up and stormed out the room, leaving Beca staring after her.

"What the hell was that?" the flabbergasted short girl wondered out loud.

Stacie wasn't sure where she was going. And she didn't know why she was so upset. She pulled out her phone and called her beau of the week.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked seductively.

Beca woke up the next day, and Stacie's bed was still empty.

"Fine" she grumbled. "Just be that way then." Beca got out of bed, and went to the bathroom down the hall to take her morning shower and get ready for the day. When she got back, there was still no sign of Stacie, so she grabbed her laundry basket, and brought it to her car. She was going to her Dad and Sheila's house for the day.

 **A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Reviews keep me motivated. I'm still looking for ideas on this story, or just tell me what you think. What do you like or not like? Thanks!**


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